| ventral spinocerebellar tract | A bundle of fibres originating in the base of the posterior horn and zona intermedia throughout lumbosacral segments of the spinal cord, crossing to the opposite side and ascending in a peripheral position in the ventral half of the lateral funiculus. In its ascent through the rhombencephalon, the tract curves sharply dorsalward along the rostral border of the trigeminal motor nucleus, entering the cerebellum in a caudal direction over the dorsal surface of the superior cerebellar peduncle, and terminating as mossy fibres in the granular layer of the cortex of the cerebellar vermis. The bundle conveys proprioceptive and exteroceptive information largely from the opposite lower extremity. Synonym: tractus spinocerebellaris anterior, Gowers' column, Gowers' tract, ventral spinocerebellar tract. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| ventral spinothalamic tract | The more anterior or ventral part of the spinothalamic tract that is involved in tactile sensation. See: spinothalamic tract. Synonym: tractus spinothalamicus anterior, ventral spinothalamic tract. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ventral splanchnic arteries | Artery's that arise on the embryo from the dorsal aorta and are distributed to the digestive tube. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ventral surface of digit | The flat of the fingers; the flexor or anterior surface of the fingers. Synonym: facies digitalis ventralis, facies digitalis palmaris, ventral surface of digit. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ventral thalamic peduncle | The massive system of fibre bundles emerging through the ventral, lateral, and anterior borders of the thalamus to join the internal capsule and parts of the corona radiata; it contains the fibres reciprocally connecting the ventral thalamic nuclei with the precentral and postcentral gyri of the cerebral cortex. Synonym: pedunculus thalami ventralis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ventral white column | A narrow band of white substance bordering on the anterior median fissure of the spinal cord in front of the anterior gray commissure, and consisting of nerve fibres crossing over from one half of the spinal cord to the other. Synonym: commissura alba, anterior white commissure, commissura ventralis alba, ventral white column. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lateral cutaneous branches of ventral primary ramus of thoracic spinal nerves | Branches arising in approximately the anterior axillary line at the level of the second through sixth intercostal spaces. Synonym: rami mammarii laterales nervorum intercostalium, lateral cutaneous branches of intercostal nerves. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lateral ventral hernia | Abdominal hernia through the semilunar line. Synonym: lateral ventral hernia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| accessory olivary nuclei | See: dorsal accessory olivary nucleus, medial accessory olivary nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anterior nuclei of thalamus | Collective term for three groups of nerve cells which together form the anterior thalamic tubercle: the anteroventral nuclei, a relatively large nucleus; the anteromedial nuclei; and the anterodorsal nuclei, a small (but large-celled) nucleus. The nuclei receive the mamillothalamic tract from the mamillary body, and additional afferents by way of the fornix; they project collectively to the cortex of the cingulate and parahippocampal gyrus. Synonym: nuclei anteriores thalami. (05 Mar 2000) |
| arcuate nuclei | A variable assembly of small cell groups, probably outlying components of the pontine nuclei, on the ventral and medial aspects of the pyramid in the medulla oblongata. Synonym: nuclei arcuati. (05 Mar 2000) |
| autonomic nuclei | Nuclei located in the spinal cord (T1-L2, S2-S4) and in the brainstem (Edinger-Westphal nucleus, superior and inferior salivatory nuclei, dorsal vagal nucleus and parts of the ambiguus nucleus) from which general visceral efferent preganglionic fibres arise; may be sympathetic (T1-L2) or parasympathetic (craniosacral); hypothalamic nuclei/areas function in concert with autonomic nuclei. (05 Mar 2000) |
| basal nuclei | Nucleus of the cerebral hemisphere that originally included the caudate and lenticular nuclei, the claustrum and the amygdaloid body (complex); functionally the term basal nuclei now specifies the caudate and lenticular nuclei and adjacent cell groups having important connections therewith (subthalamic nucleus; substantia nigra, partes compacta and reticulata); amygdaloid complex now known to be part of the limbic system. Synonym: nuclei basales. (05 Mar 2000) |
| branchiomotor nuclei | Collective term for those motoneuronal nuclei of the brainstem (n. Ambiguus, facial motor nucleus, motor nucleus of the trigeminus) that develop from the branchiomotor column of the embryo and innervate striated muscle fibres (muscles of mastication, facial musculature, pharynx and vocal cord muscles) developed from the mesenchyme of the branchial arches. Synonym: special visceral efferent nuclei, special visceral motor nuclei. (05 Mar 2000) |
| caput nuclei caudati | The head or anterior extremity of the caudate nucleus projecting into the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle. Synonym: caput nuclei caudati, anterior extremity of caudate nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |